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Community speakers press board on vendor system, payroll and class sizes; HR reports 65 teacher vacancies
Summary
During public comment, parents and teachers described procurement blockages that canceled a field trip, uneven payroll/timekeeping problems and ESOL class sizes above guidelines; HR reported 65 teacher vacancies and progress on a teacher‑residency pipeline.
At the Dec. 9 community input session, parents, teachers and community advocates urged the DeKalb County Board of Education to fix operational problems they say are harming schools.
Sarah Farris, a parent, told the board that the district’s new approved‑vendor registration and activity‑module software has prevented principals and bookkeepers from paying suppliers in time, forcing the cancellation of a completed seventh‑grade field trip and delaying reimbursements to teachers who front purchases. "In order to stop a few wrongdoers from misusing the system, this current policy is tying the hands of hundreds of passionate teachers, staff members, and parents," she said.
Teachers and representatives raised payroll and timekeeping issues. Deborah Jones, president of a teachers’ group, asked for a dedicated point of contact to resolve payroll questions and emphasized that certified (salaried) employees cannot be docked in half‑hour increments without proper policy. Several speakers also pressed for clarity on virtual teacher work days and planning time.
Carla Weston Brown, an IEL (intensive English learner) teacher, described ESOL/IEL classrooms far above Georgia Department of Education guidance: she said her classes had 36 sixth‑graders and 25 seventh‑graders without paraeducators and called for additional staffing and modular classrooms at overcrowded sites.
In the board’s HR presentation, Director Davis Mills reported 65 teacher vacancies and updated the board on a para‑to‑teacher pipeline and the district’s teacher‑residency cohorts; trustees asked staff to provide a certified‑vs‑provisional teacher breakdown by school.
Why it matters: Operational implementation gaps in procurement and payroll affect day‑to‑day school operations and can have immediate effects on student experiences (field trips, classroom supports) and staff morale. ESOL class sizes and teacher vacancies also bear directly on instruction.
Next steps: trustees asked staff to review the vendor registration process, provide clearer payroll/timekeeping guidance and supply a detailed vacancy breakdown showing provisional and certified teachers by school.
